The Ultimate Fantasy Series Ranking

Research dossier

Ulysses Moore

#3204.07 in the official ranking · full ranking

Books 19 books Status Complete 2004–2024 Reading commitment High Pierdomenico Baccalario Last reviewed 2026-11-01

Overview

Ulysses Moore is an Italian children's fantasy series published by Edizioni Piemme from 2004. The books appear under the house name Ulysses Moore, a pseudonym of the Italian author Pierdomenico Baccalario. They are set in Kilmore Cove, a Cornish village missing from maps, where several Doors of Time lead to other eras and places and each opens only with its own key. The first twelve novels follow twins Jason and Julia Covenant and their friend Rick Banner, joined later by Anita Bloom, as they explore the doors from Villa Argo and face the villain Oblivia Newton and, later, Captain Spencer. A second run of novels from 2013 follows Murray, Mina, Connor and Shane against the Imaginary Indies Company. The series has 19 novels, the latest a 2024 prequel.

Portal fantasy, Mythic fantasy · For Middle grade

Core Canon: Reading Order (19 works) counts toward ranking

Ulysses Moore Pierdomenico Baccalario

WorkYearInternal chron.CanonRating
Cover of La porta del tempoLa porta del tempo; The first edition was published by Edizioni Piemme in 2004.20041core4.00 (7,825 ratings)
Cover of La bottega delle mappe dimenticateLa bottega delle mappe dimenticate20052core4.06 (4,694 ratings)
Cover of La casa degli specchiLa casa degli specchi20053core4.08 (3,658 ratings)
Cover of L'isola delle maschereL'isola delle maschere20064core4.13 (3,152 ratings)
Cover of I guardiani di pietraI guardiani di pietra20065core4.12 (2,306 ratings)
Cover of La prima chiaveLa prima chiave20076core4.18 (1,935 ratings)
La città nascosta20087core4.04 (1,634 ratings)
Il maestro di fulmini20098core4.07 (1,243 ratings)
Il labirinto d'ombra20099core4.11 (1,102 ratings)
Cover of Il paese di ghiaccioIl paese di ghiaccio201010core4.09 (1,013 ratings)
Cover of Il giardino di cenereIl giardino di cenere201011core4.13 (929 ratings)
Il club dei viaggiatori immaginari; Closes the first twelve-book run of the series, after which a new group of characters leads the story.201112core4.22 (838 ratings)
Cover of La nave del tempoLa nave del tempo; Begins a third cycle with new main characters, set in the same Kilmore Cove.201313core3.90 (388 ratings)
Cover of Viaggio nei porti oscuriViaggio nei porti oscuri201414core4.02 (247 ratings)
Cover of I pirati dei mari immaginariI pirati dei mari immaginari201415core4.08 (206 ratings)
L'isola dei ribelli201516core4.19 (166 ratings)
L'ora della battaglia; Some catalogue records give 2016.201517core4.18 (123 ratings)
La grande estate; Set in 1958, before the events of the earlier volumes.201618core4.23 (111 ratings)
Cover of I mondi alla fine del mondoI mondi alla fine del mondo; A prequel published in 2024, after the earlier cycles had ended.202419core4.22 (65 ratings)

Nineteen Italian middle-grade fantasy novels set around the Doors of Time in Kilmore Cove, in three cycles plus a prequel.

Quick answers

Why is it ranked #320?

Ranked #320 in the official ranking.

How the ranking works →

Why explore this universe?

Highly rated · 19 books · Complete · 32k ratings · Ranks #320 overall

Good choice if you want a long-running portal fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.

Reading order

Publication order (19 Core Canon books)

  1. La porta del tempo (2004)
  2. La bottega delle mappe dimenticate (2005)
  3. La casa degli specchi (2005)
  4. I guardiani di pietra (2006)
  5. L'isola delle maschere (2006)
  6. La prima chiave (2007)
  7. La città nascosta (2008)
  8. Il labirinto d'ombra (2009)
  9. Il maestro di fulmini (2009)
  10. Il giardino di cenere (2010)
  11. Il paese di ghiaccio (2010)
  12. Il club dei viaggiatori immaginari (2011)
  13. La nave del tempo (2013)
  14. I pirati dei mari immaginari (2014)
  15. Viaggio nei porti oscuri (2014)
  16. L'isola dei ribelli (2015)
  17. L'ora della battaglia (2015)
  18. La grande estate (2016)
  19. I mondi alla fine del mondo (2024)

Documented internal/story order

  1. La porta del tempo (2004)
  2. La bottega delle mappe dimenticate (2005)
  3. La casa degli specchi (2005)
  4. L'isola delle maschere (2006)
  5. I guardiani di pietra (2006)
  6. La prima chiave (2007)
  7. La città nascosta (2008)
  8. Il maestro di fulmini (2009)
  9. Il labirinto d'ombra (2009)
  10. Il paese di ghiaccio (2010)
  11. Il giardino di cenere (2010)
  12. Il club dei viaggiatori immaginari (2011)
  13. La nave del tempo (2013)
  14. Viaggio nei porti oscuri (2014)
  15. I pirati dei mari immaginari (2014)
  16. L'isola dei ribelli (2015)
  17. L'ora della battaglia (2015)
  18. La grande estate (2016)
  19. I mondi alla fine del mondo (2024)

Awards (verified)

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Suggestions computed from what Ulysses Moore and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.

Official resources

Research details

Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.07 across 31,635 ratings on 19 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.

How do we know this?

Admission: Canon Extension: Ulysses Moore, House of Night, Otherworld (Sisters of the Moon) and Psy-Changeling; Arslan and Echo open items closed accepted 2026-11-01

Sources: (see source tier definitions)

Last reviewed: 2026-11-01

Rule: Core Canon = the 19 Ulysses Moore novels, from La porta del tempo (2004) to the prequel I mondi alla fine del mondo (2024), all set in Kilmore Cove; separately titled spin-off series, comics and short companion material are excluded.

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